Biographical note:
The Seward Undertaking Company was run by Luella and P.C. McMullen. P.C. McMullen also served as mayor of Seward during the 1929-1930 period. Luella McMullen was a teacher at Douglas School (Treadwell) but by 1924 had moved to Seward. After P.C. McMullen died 1938, Luella McMullen continued to run the company and later married Ray James. She also had other commercial concerns in Seward, including a dress shop.

Collection description:
This collection consists of two register books, documenting the deaths and funeral preparations for individuals who died in or near Seward. The register pages often include the name of the deceased, the date, cause, and place of death, date and place of birth, occupation, religious faith, parents’ names, services provided by the funeral home, location of burial or if transferred out of Alaska, and payment information. Associated payment and collections correspondence is attached to some pages. Though not a comprehensive listing of all deaths in Seward, the volumes document the deaths of more than just Seward residents: the individuals listed in the registers came from a variety of locations as Seward was home to the Jesse Lee Home, the Seward Sanitorium (tuberculosis sanitorium), a prison, Ft. Raymond during the war years, and also a docking place for many steamships traveling to and from Alaska.

Arrangement: The entries in the volumes are in chronological order by date of the initial request to the company.

Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.

Rights note: Copyright to the registers is held by Archives and Special Collections.